Using sand from the caost to seed DSB

[badfish03]

Tried a search but could not find any information on this subject probably cause I am new at this.

Has anyone used the sand off the gulf for seeding a new tank with a deep sand bed?

What were your results like?

Robert
Noob in Boerne

[Texreefer]

IMO there is too much silica based sand in there that would plague you with algea trouble..also never know what kind of bad bacteria your picking up.. i would stay away from it

[Texreefer]

welcome to MAAST by the way :)

[RayAllen]

Bad Idea

[badfish03]

IMO there is too much silica based sand in there that would plague you with algea trouble..also never know what kind of bad bacteria your picking up.. i would stay away from it

I kinda figured as much but was hopeful :roll


welcome to MAAST by the way
Thanks for the welcome


Bad Idea
Most of mine are but I try anyway :lol

[RayAllen]

lol. This hobby is the ultimate trial and error. The goal is to make less errors and to always learn.

[JimD]

Theres nothing wrong with using silica based sand as long as its cleaned well, other than looking butt ugly, it wont cause any algae outbreaks on its own, it is after all basicly glass, if that were the case, anyone who had a glass tank would inherently have algae... Myth Busted! lol

[badfish03]

So mainly I would be looking at unfriendlys or other garbage being imorted with the sand. Correct?

[Texreefer]

it is generally found in the form of quartz and yes that myth has been busted , more or less, there are still more issues with people using this sand than not,, the point is why risk it when there are far better options.. you wont find any Quartz in my reef :P

[caferacermike]

And I doubt our native beaches are anything at all like coral reefs in regards to the microfauna.

[Willow]

think of the ocean as being a giant protein skimmer... the surf deposits all the gunk onto the beach...

[brieman]

Welcome to MAAST.

[erick]

There are heavy metals and petroleum products in the sand at the coast, its not like sand from the Keys!!
We are too close to oil/NG platforms, and Mexican owned platforms which used to be poorly regulated. Remember seeing all the tar on the beaches not too long ago? I would be very wary of this in my tank straight up . BTW, there are some legal issues with taking the sand, but I doubt anyone will question..... <_<

[cbianco]

Beware...

The polution at the beach is extremely elevated compared to sand taken off shore. I would stay away from this idea, even if it is a free option.

JMO

Christopher :)